Hey guys,

my 996tt is back in the shop for second time in 4 months because something popped and my coolant vaporized out my back end. The dealer is telling me that the oil cooler is cracking because the ambient temperature of the engine compartment is too high. They believe its because of the mod's i've made to the car. I have Evo Stage 4 setup. My extended warranty is covering the repair this time, but i've been informed this will be the last time as they believe my mod's are responsible.

Has anyone ever heard of this or had a similar problem?

 

never heard of it...
what do u mean by ambient temperature of the engine compartment is too high ???

 

Hmmmm.... Stg 4... under hood mods... boost hoses and an airbox and diverters right?

Shouldn't make it hotter. Mine ran fine with that setup (heat wise) and runs fine UMW tuned with similar (but different) mods.

 

ya, that's what i said. I'm having my tuner call the dealer because it doesn't make sense.

They told me the engine compartment is too hot when i'm driving hard and that caused this "oil cooler" to burst...basically.

All i know is my coolant has burst twice in a few months and they say its no hose.

 

Sorry, that is BS...the stealers way of telling you they won't do any warranty on your car.

 

well wait... in the original post you said that you had a problem with ur oil cooler( passenger side rear of motor).... Then you mentioned something about hoses and coolants.... the oil cooler has oil not coolant... what do these have to do with one another???
Oil cooler crack sometimes when changing oil and one does nto use the 2nd wrench- I believe a 22mm to hold the cooler in place while unscrewing the drain plug. That will cause a crack....
But that still does not have anything to do with coolant..
markski

 

guys
just curious
where does your engine temp needle stay at ?
mine is at 180 when driving, and about 185-190 when in stop and go
is that normal ?

 

Markski,
Sorry if i'm not making sense because i'm confused as well. The way it was explained to me is there exists some kind of "oil cooler" that the water/antifreeze runs through. The dealer is telling me that this thing has cracked and the water drained out. They replaced it a few months ago. required dropping the engine and the works. Now same thing and when i asked them what is causing this thing to break...they said the "engine compartment ambient temp is too high"

Steve,
my engine temp runs at 180 all day long. I've never had a temp problem until the water drained out and then it heated up immediately.

 

time to use the porsche dealer in the next town over. Glad they are covering it this time.

S

 

Thats about right I'm at 180 to 181 in moving traffic and 182-185 in aggressive driving mode (plus 80 to 110)

 

I had a coolant hose burst and I know of a dozen or so 996TT and GT3 owners that have experienced this problem. Make sure that it is not just a $25 hose. There are two that commonly fail. Each is directly forward of the motor mounts. You may need to remove the airbox to R/R the hose but you can inspect them easily by feel and to some extent visually.

Now another person I know (intentionally left unnamed) with a 996TT was told a story similar to yours by his dealer when he had coolant loss. I quote:
"...there is a bracket that is on the power steering pump that the cooling line goes thru. It's my understanding that it serves no cooling purpose for the power steering pump, but was made that way in an attempt to save space." He was told it is not covered under warranty and that the engine might need to be dropped. I told him to go to a different dealer. No end of the story yet to my knowledge.

 

Thanks roadsterdoc,
interesting, i'll have to check that hose thing myself.

 

Same person called me too about the hose... Roadsterdoc knows....
Funny thing is that the OPC will not even cover it... so I told him go to another dealer...